Athens is located at 34°48'9" North, 86°58'17" West (34.802500, -86.971389).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 39.42 mi2 (102.10 km2). 39.33 mi2 (101.86 km2) of it is land and 0.09 mi2 (0.24 km2) of it is covered by water. The total area is 0.24% water.

Athens is located in the Central Standard Time (CST) timezone, GMT-06:00. It observes Daylight Saving Time (DST).